It may look like something out of the future, perhaps a cross between a race car and a space shuttle, but the Delta Wing prototype has already made a big splash in the automotive industry. And this weekend, Connecticut race enthusiasts have the opportunity to see it up close.

If you want to see something truly revolutionary on the Fourth of July weekend, Lime Rock Park can provide it as the Delta Wing will be there today and Saturday as part of the track's biggest event of the summer.

Lime Rock hosts the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix with practice, qualifying and a couple of support races today. It follows up with a big race day Saturday highlighted by the 2-hour, 45-minute main feature in which the Delta Wing will compete.

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) features four classes of race cars all competing in the same race. The premier class is Prototypes, cool-looking cars built expressly for racing and not resembling anything you might encounter on the road.

The Delta Wing takes that concept to new levels, featuring its sleek, aerodynamic body with a front end one-third the width of its rear end. Ad-

See ALMS, Page 6B

vanced technology generates enough down force without wings to compete with cars twice its weight and horsepower.

"It does look very futuristic, but it is definitely a race car," said co-driver Katherine Legge, who raced in this year's Indy 500. "In the old days, you would look at a race car and it would create passion and emotion. That is the way it is with the Delta Wing. You either love it or you hate it, but it definitely evokes that emotion inside people, which I think is really cool."

The Delta Wing is a show-stopper that draws considerable attention in the paddock. It not only looks unique, but it has plenty of substance. Since the car was built — prepared in part at Danbury's Highcroft Racing — to race in last year's prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, it has earned pioneering, innovation and aerodynamic awards from eight different national or international racing and science publications.

It was named the racing car or competition car of the year by both Automobile Magazine and Speedhunters, and earned the "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science Magazine.

Legge said she gets asked by fans all the time how it is different to drive compared to a normal race car, because the front wheels are so close together it doesn't appear it could possibly corner as nimbly as its competitors.

"It's really interesting to them, because they look at it, and they can't quite figure out in their brains how it works," Legge said. "It was the same for me when I first got in it. I called my teammate Andy Meyrick and said, 'So what do I do?' He said, 'Don't worry about it. Get in there, and you will be fine.' It is just difficult to understand how something that looks so different can drive so normal."

The car is capable of reaching speeds of 195 miles per hour, but in the top class of ALMS that isn't quite good enough. It has only competed in three races to date with a best finish of third, but it has the feel of a car that is coming on strongly and will be very competitive by next season.

Team manager Dave Price said the car will compete the rest of this season in ALMS and is currently working on a new coupe version that will be ready to race next season under new specifications when the ALMS and Grand Am Series finally race together under one banner.

Price hopes that the car will impress enough sports car teams that a whole fleet of Delta Wings will be competing soon enough once everyone gets used to the idea that it can be fast and competitive and not just revolutionary.

"To drive, it is definitely like driving other premier race cars," Legge said. "If somebody put a blind fold on you and put you in the car, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference once. It is a very cool machine that does what it is supposed to do. It is all physics. It is all engineering, and they have done an amazing job with it, because it uses less fuel, less tires. It is lighter. It has virtually very little drag compared to the normal race car but lots of downforce. It is a really cool project."

Legge, who has raced in Champ Car, Formula Atlantic, Indy Lights and Daytona Prototypes in addition to IndyCar is enjoying herself incredibly. She said she was close to signing a full season deal in IndyCars this year when it unraveled at the last moment. She was left scrambling and felt very fortunate to earn what she calls a one-in-a-million opportunity to race the Delta Wing this season and perhaps beyond.

"I am pushing in lots of different directions at the moment," Legge said. "I am very much looking toward the future. What I don't want to do is try and piece something together again. I want something not just for next year, but beyond, as well, and this could be it."

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